China’s Quake Reconstruction To Cost Nearly $150 Billion: Govt

Nearly 150 billion dollars are needed to rebuild areas in southwest China devastated by a massive earthquake in May, the government said on Thursday.

The 51 worst-hit counties and cities will need about one trillion yuan (145.7 billion dollars), said the National Development and Reform Commission, the top economic planning agency, in a statement on its website.

That was more than one fifth of the 4.9 trillion yuan of tax revenue that the government was able to collect nationwide last year.

A total of 4,432 primary and middle schools and 169 hospitals are to be rebuilt, according to a reconstruction plan posted on the NDRC’s website.